


Polishing the Veil

by CoverFireGoddess880 (orphan_account)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Characters to be added, Dry Humping, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Language, Mpreg, Noctis is definitely more in-touch with his feminine side, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Punishment, Ravus is Actually a Good Man, Why can't Ravus have a good life?, captured AU, mentions of physical abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 19:33:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15420033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/CoverFireGoddess880
Summary: Captured by the Empire, Noctis's chance for life wears thin.A plan is put in motion by none other than Ravus Nox Fleuret, a son of Tenebrae and recently promoted to the honor of imperial high commander. In searching his own heart for redemption, he may have yet just found favor in the eyes of the Lucian prince.





	Polishing the Veil

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who are turned off to mpreg, know that this is not solely focused on that aspect so I hope you'll give this story a try! Ravus is my favorite character, so I'm trying to write some more fics about him because he's so fun to write for :)
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like the story.

Somewhere in the corner of his mind, Ravus knew he was forgetting something. Or some _ one _ . He checks his watch - It’s only quarter past eight, but by the Six, that was way too early for the officials to be warmongering. But he has to ask himself - has it really been any different since the beginning?

 Niflheim’s highest commander shuffled up the long staircase with the stuffiest of attitudes, trying to come up with some excuse as to why he wasn’t present for the examination.  _ THE  _ examination. The same examination that was pertinent to qualifying for legalistic hierarchy; at least for all parties involved, Ravus being certain they’d fall within that category if he played his cards right.

 He hears quite the exasperated whine from inside his bed chambers, and his already droopy expression turns even more sour. No one should have to live this way - not even kings. 

 He enters slowly.

 The doctor is just finishing up, placing his medical items back to rest in his bag. Noctis, one undignifying bare leg hanging off the edge of the canopy bed, is re-buttoning his nightgown. The bulge that rests beneath the fabric is merely a distraction for Ravus, to serve as a reminder that he and the younger prince are government puppets.

 “Thanks for sticking by me - for better or for worse,” Noctis sneers. “Thought you said seven thirty.”

 “Impracticalities ushered the need for my absence, I assure you,” Ravus replies coldly, avoiding Noctis’s childish glare. He  _ is _ only a boy, but he could at least try to preserve some dignity.

 “You mean  _ meetings? _ ” Noctis cradles his baby bump as he burps. Heartburn. “You’ve got an excuse for every, single damn thing.”

 “Pardoning your insolent habits would turn our rendezvous into a much more pleasant event.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, making a mental note of how long it takes his ‘partner’ to remedy his hormonal tantrums. “Now, I believe I inquired something of you?”

 Noctis groans. This routine had already begun to wear thin. “Growing like a weed!”

 “Indeed, it is, high commander,” the doctor interrupts the prince. “The fetus is developing rather well and in perfect condition right now!”

 “Bunched up against my spine,” Noctis says, trying to dominate Ravus’s attention. Complacency is paramount. “Ravus? Ravus.”

 The doctor’s reports are halted by a hand from the high commander. “ _ Noctis _ ,” he says, throwing the raven a serious side-glare. “A moment, if you  _ please _ .”

 “But aren’t you talking about  _ me _ ?” Noctis crosses his arms and pouts. “Pretty rude behavior from the prince of Tenebrae.”

 Sighing, Ravus shoos the doctor out of their bedroom and turns to Noctis once the door self-locks behind him. It was a temporary security feature the empire had installed for the Lucian prince’s capture. Even with Ravus’s insistence they have yet to remove such vile contraptions. “Now, Noctis,” Ravus begins, face going soft for a moment. “What was so pressing in your tiny space over there that you absolutely  _ had _ to steal me away from medical briefing?”

 Noctis huffs. “Didn’t think I was such a burden to you.”

 “It is an understatement to mention that not many in the Empire would consider keeping you alive if not for me, Highness,” he hisses, teeth bared just to create tension between them. Needlessly so. “Your fate is bound by my actions - and mine alone. You may wish to think twice before mumbling about your inadequacies. Those who swear fealty to Aldercapt would rather see you bloodied and in chains than…” He stops to compose himself, remembering the sickening, hateful words the emperor himself had uttered about the prince. He’d not disgrace Noctis again, not even in private. “...Well, expectant with my child.”

 He takes a seat on their bed, but Noctis is all too hasty to back away from him, pulling the covers up and over his lower areas. He scowls. “I think you mean, ‘infested with your seed’?”

 “I would dare not mimic that phrase in your presence, Noctis, as a mindless parrot might.”

 “What’s this all of a sudden? You’re being nice to me?” Noctis acts all dramatic, pressing on his own breast.

 A vein in the elder prince’s temple pops out. He  _ does _ appear rather disheveled, and irritated by Noctis’s incessant fussiness. “I am a better man than to stoop to their level of belittling helpless creatures.”

 “Should've known this was all about you,” Noctis sighs discontentedly, lying back on the mountain of fluffy pillows. “The only thing that’s good about this whole damn situation is that I can eat as much junk as I want.”

 “Have some decency and thank me for preserving your pathetic life, Noctis,” Ravus says, metal hand gripping Noctis’s thigh past the point of pain.

 Noctis screams and bolts up. “Fuck you, Ravus! You don’t deserve  _ anything _ from me! You’re just as evil as them all!-” Ravus leans over him and covers Noctis’s mouth, pinning his free wrist against the mattress.

 “Will you hush?” He whispers harshly, fingers softly caressing Noctis’s cheek - the one with the dent near his lip. A scar resulting from punishment. “Don’t make them think I’m inflicting pain upon you.”

 Noctis pulls his face away from Ravus’s claw. “What difference does it make?!” He whispers in reply. “They do that for you!”

 Ravus stares him into submission. “If it would ease your suffering, I shall insist that you be brought to my quarters for discipline. Is that acceptable?”

 Noctis is silent, purposefully ignoring his ‘fiance’. Perhaps he’s taken his obstinate attitude a little too far, but he just doesn’t want to appear weak. If he’s being honest with himself, he’d rather tell Ravus this fact and get it over with.

 Ravus looks down at him - this time, with sympathy. “Is that a yes, Noctis?”

 Noctis nods slightly, but there's still a hint of hesitation in those brilliant blue eyes. “You never stopped them before,” he says, the weight now lifted off of his wrist as he palms his belly beneath Ravus’s lean body. “You just wanted them to soften me up, right? So I’d be easy prey for you?”

 “Not at all what I had in mind,” Ravus scoffs mildly. “Rest assured, Noctis, I do not wish harm upon you. The severity of your punishment was determined only by the filthy wretchedness that has taken the heart of Lord Besithia - he yearns to see our enemies suffer.”

 “So, I’m still  _ your _ enemy,” Noctis says sadly. “Not a surprise, but I thought since I’m carrying your kid, you’d show at least a little mercy.”

 “You are missing my point, boy,” Ravus states blankly. This is not the first time Noctis has acted completely oblivious to his platonic affections. Since he’d arrived, Noctis has been nothing but a wild card, totally unreadable even by the attentive, precise, and highly intelligible Ravus Nox Fleuret.

 Even sex became a mind game. The night that precious bundle of joy was conceived, Noctis was a mess of petty insults, bringing his own royal brand of snark to the bedroom. Though Ravus had managed to quiet him long enough to mate with him, there wasn’t much mutual agreement nor leeway for snubbing indifference. But fate eventually had a way of settling them down; a relationship with enough respect for one another that they sort of just fell into.

 Noctis remained solemn, and Ravus had no quarrel about it. If there was something to be said, the elder gave passage and the younger strayed toward the wayside. It was still a kind of game they played, but at least it served them both to a mutual extent of enduring each other’s thoughts and feelings.The latter of which Noctis had a theory that Ravus never reciprocated - platonic or otherwise. 

 Up until a few weeks ago, when Ravus had taken the initiative in bed to kiss him. It was short, but sweet; Ravus had tasted of Tenebraean berries, and he kind of melted in the high commander’s arms. Noctis wondered what his father would have to say about the tingling sensation he’d feel when the two princes lie in bed together.

 Gladio would definitely chortle at the mere thought.

 Noctis dares himself, reaching up to touch Ravus’s face. His face grows soft, lips lax and parted slightly in curiosity as he traces the thin bones in Ravus’s angular face down to his chin. He thumbs the rougher skin underneath from shaving too often. “No, I get it,” Noctis says. Ravus cocks his head, shifting to lean over him on all fours as he unbuttons his heavy coat. “Me being pregnant isn’t exactly a one-up for you, is it?”

 “Not publicly, no,” Ravus replies, tossing his coat over the side of the bed. “Only in my mind.”

 “In  _ your _ mind? So, wait… You knocked me up because you wanted to?”

 Ravus grunts indignantly. “It’s not like that. See, if I hadn’t given them a reason to spare your life, they wouldn’t have. But just because I hold love for our unborn child doesn’t necessarily mean I want it.”

 Noctis smirks in understanding. He’s going to make this as playful as possible. “You’re just not as heartless as I pegged you to be?”

 Ravus chuckles deeply, leaving Noctis with butterflies in his belly. It’s quite a lovely sound, he just didn’t think Ravus was capable of a laughter function. “I’m relieved to hear we’re on the same wavelength.”

 He lowers himself closer to Noctis’s body, brushing his hard-on up against his groin. Noctis moans; the thin material of his nightgown means the result of Ravus's eager touch made an even greater impact on his younger partner. Noctis arches slightly, fingers gripping the sheets - underneath the gown he’s completely naked.

 Smiling, Ravus ruts against him again and draws out yet another louder moan from the younger prince. He peppers his face with kisses, beginning at his temple and moving along down to his neck where he grazes the soft flesh there with his teeth. “Does this please you?”

 Noctis starts panting. “If you move… a little to the… Yes, Ravus...!” He whimpers under Ravus’s tantalizing mouth, legs falling open in response as Ravus slots himself in between them comfortably.

 They haven’t actually made love since the night Noctis conceived, but they have found other ways to deal with intimacy. In the beginning, it was all about surface appearances - how they looked to the imperial high officials. But then it became more personal, and Ravus could care less about who knew why they held hands in the halls, or the reason Noctis never barked,  _ “personal space!”  _ when the high commander squeezed his ass cheek during a briefing.

 There were nights they did discuss such a topic at length in the early evening when they were alone. He’d crawl on top of Noctis from behind and grind against him till they both orgasmed, peppering his bare backside with feathery soft kisses, but never again was there skin on skin contact since that night.

 The next morning, anything that went on between the two of them the previous night was forgotten. Neither spoke of their dalliances or the attraction it caused to grow in them both as time progressed. It was as if two ships had only just passed in the night.

 Noctis tugs on the collar of Ravus’s jacket, pulling on him to come up to his face. “Ravus,” he breathes out against Ravus’s cheek, “kiss me.” Oh, the heavy pressure of the older man’s body on his feels so right, the heat so wonderful as he lays almost flush on top of him.

 Platinum blonde hair tickles Noctis’s skin as Ravus takes his lips, a moan leaving the younger prince as he arches into Ravus’s broad, lean chest. Noctis seems to want more by the way he willingly lets Ravus slip his tongue inside, their heated bodies rubbing against each other, erections flush if not for their clothes.

 They’re so entranced by the way their bodies rock into one another, lips smacking and voices muffling moans and groans that they don’t hear a knock at their door until it’s so hard and startles Ravus. He draws back in shock and accidently bites down on Noctis’s bottom lip, drawing blood. Noctis yelps and covers his bleeding mouth as Ravus shushes him, caressing his soft bangs.

 “Noctis, forgive me…” He murmurs softly before addressing that pounding racket on the door. “Which insolent fool has so rudely interrupted me?!”

 “A humble soldier, high commander,” comes the reply. “I’ve come with orders that you and the Lucian prince are to attend the late afternoon meeting, if that is acceptable?”

 “Yes.”

 “Yes, sir?”

 “Yes!” Ravus shouts again, making his way to the master bath. “Yes, yes, more than acceptable! Now, leave!”

 “Certainly, high commander, sir!”

 Noctis hears the ten-hut foot stomp of the soldier and groans within earshot of no one but the little life nestled inside of him. Ravus returns to the bed shortly with a tube of oral antiseptic and a warm washcloth, kicking his boots off to sit comfortably in front of Noctis.

 “I’m so sorry, Noctis,” Ravus says, prying Noctis’s hands away from his mouth lovingly. It kind of shocks the younger prince. “How is your lip? I can stem the flow of blood, but I can’t promise it won’t bruise…”

 Noctis hisses as Ravus pats the cut, stopping the flow of blood from dripping down into his mouth. “Did you really mean that?”

 “Mean what?”

 When the elder prince finally backs away, Noctis locks eyes with him. “That going to that meeting is ‘more than acceptable’? You know what’s gonna happen there, right?”

 “Of course, Noctis,” Ravus says without a second thought, applying some salve onto his finger. “Now, sit still while I put this on…”

 “Wait.” Noctis grabs Ravus’s wrist and stops him from reaching his lip. He looks deeply into Ravus’s heterochromic eyes, searching for any trace of hate, malice, or discontent. There appears to be none, but he has to be sure, he just has to be.

 “Noctis, whatever is wrong? You look as if you suspect me of something…?” Ravus’s brows tilt upward in sadness, hands coming to hold Noctis’s. “Noctis?”

 Noctis keeps his head downcast. “Why should I trust you?”

 Ravus squeezes Noctis’s hands tenderly and offers him a slight smile. “Whom can you trust if not me? I, who have cared for and nursed you from all the abuse that has been heaped upon you?”

 Noctis slits his eyes in real suspicion. “I just wanna know what’s in it for you?”

 “I had hoped your friendship - if you could allow such a precious thing to be borrowed?”

 “What is this?” Noctis scoots away from him, protectively leaning over his bump. “What do you really want from me, Ravus?”

 “I have already told you, Noctis. What is this all about?” He turns up his hands, confused by Noctis’s sudden change from aroused to suspicious and angry. “What’s wrong?”

 Noctis slowly goes from sharp to calm as he realizes how wrong he was to accuse Ravus - the only human here who treated him with unusual kindness while prisoner - of deceiving him with such behavior for his own selfish gain. Had he ever given Noctis the notion that he was doing all this for  _ himself _ ? Why would the imperial high commander suffer through so much torment and insult for him if, in the end, he was rewarded for helping their enemy?

 For months, Ravus was teased, hated, even threatened by penalty of death for supporting the very existence of the enemy prince. The baby Noctis carried was his only safety net, and he had risked his own life just to save Noctis’s. Why would a man, known for his disgust and distrust toward Lucian royalty, sacrifice his well-being to preserve the life of the heir to the Lucian throne?

 How could Noctis have been so blind? So selfish?

 “Ravus, I…” Noctis wipes his tear-stained eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry, I...” He falls forward into Ravus’s arms and breaks down, the rush of emotions flooding his weakened body and mind overwhelms him as he clings desperately to the elder prince’s sleeves.

 Ravus attempts to soothe him by carding gentle fingers through his hair. “Noctis… Did you truly believe I would desert you to the sinister hands of these snakes? That I would leave them to carve hollow wounds out of your bones?” He presses a kiss to his head. “If that were the soul of me, I’d rather be dead now.”

 “Then why am I still here?” Comes Noctis’s muffled plea. He looks to Ravus, tears gleaning his cheeks. “Why won’t you let me go?”

 “Because if they saw for but a moment that I was not by your side, they would not hesitate to kill you, Noctis,” Ravus says, the swell in his head growing from the Lucian prince merely needing to be held by him. “Remember why you are with child.”

 Noctis remembers as he feels the baby kick. Having felt the blessing of life formed by he and Ravus, there’s a gratefulness in his heart that continues to grow with each passing minute. But it’s bittersweet - this child is the bargaining chip. A noose strangles his neck; his life hangs by a thread, held together only by Ravus’s thinning authority.

 He doesn’t want to wait any more. The birth of this baby will act as the deciding factor - whether Noctis lives or dies will no longer depend on Ravus’s morality or good will toward Lucian and Imperial nobility.

 They’re running out of time - Noctis has just entered his seventh month.

 Ravus gathers him into his lap and strokes his belly, leaving Noctis to purr sadly at the motion. “I promise I will do all I can to protect you, Noctis. You and your family have suffered enough…”

 There’s a tiny rumble near his chest - Noctis is laughing. “If only Dad could hear you now…”

 “What?”

 Noctis pulls away to gaze into his eyes. “Would you apologize to my dad? For all the wrong you accused him of?”

 Ravus is about to speak rashly, but the smile Noctis is trying to put on for him ties a knot of pain in his gut. There’s such deep sorrow, and fear in those mystical, blue eyes - a pang of doubt that matches the look in King Regis’s eyes the last time he saw him twelve years ago.

 Ravus still can’t believe Regis abandoned he and Lunafreya to the clutches of the Empire… But at least now, he understands.

 Perhaps the king had his own selfish reasons for guarding the life of his only son, or those that intertwined with the wishes of the gods concerning the fate of the Chosen. But for Ravus, it’s because Noctis - is Noctis. He is far too precious a human being to let go of, to risk losing, and the feeling of this special boy in his arms, the warmth that embraces them both when they are together…

 It’s all he wants.

 “Noctis,” Ravus lets out a long sigh. “I believe… it would take me some time before I could forgive Regis.”

 “Okay,” Noctis says plainly, shrugging his shoulders. “Just wanted to know. I’m not expecting you to be perfect.”

 Ravus gives Noctis a smile and a brief kiss to his pouty lips. Noctis is visibly blushing. “Know that I do try,” he says, honest and calm as the truth on a whim.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts or questions? Leave a comment! Constructive criticism is always welcome here :)


End file.
